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NIPPON: 



A STORY OF JAPAN 



BY 

HENRY COLEMAN MAY 



I 






NEW YORK: 
MDCCCXCVIII. 



D5gof 



salia 



<// i 



Nippon; a Story of Japan 



CHAPTER I 



It was my first morning in Japan. 
I got up and went to the paper screens 
and threw them open and in streamed 
the sunlight — the beautiful sunlight of 
the Land of the Rising Sun! I had 
arrived at last! My dream was real- 
ized, and I was there; 

I had arrived the previous night — in 
the rain, to my disappointment — and 



/(\' 



had resolved not to go to the modern 
European hotel, but to go and stop 
with a friend who had recently ar- 
rived in Japan, and had taken a Japa- 
nese house with five Japanese servants 
and one English valet. 

As I gazed out into a most charm- 
ing little garden, with a miniature pond 
and most extraordinary dwarfed trees, I 
heard some one outside my door, and 
turned around to hear a man-servant ( Jo- 
Mchi I afterward learned was his name) 
call me to my bath. He spoke broken 
English, which he thought extremely 
beautiful, and it was only after some 



time that I understood what he was say- 
ing to me. My bath was a most ex- 
traordinary function. I had never taken 
such a bath in all my life before. The 
water was about ninety degrees of heat, 
and I can tell you that it was extremely 
uncomfortable. After I had finished my 
bath, all the servants, one by one, took 
that same boiling tub. When I got 
back to my room I found my friend 
waiting to see me. He was dressed 
and told me that as soon as I was 
dressed we would go out together; as 
that day was the festival of armors 
and flags for boys, being the 5th of 



May. I dressed in all haste, and it 
was not long before I was ready to 
go out. Outside our house were two 
kurumas, or jinrickishas, as they are 
more commonly called. I saw that our 
(or my friend's) house was a little out- 
side of the city of Tokyo, around which 
there were very few houses. The place 
itself was extremely pretty. 

"We got in our kurumas, and soon 
our little house was lost to view, and 
we emerged into the city — a city of 
doll houses. The first thing I noticed 
was the enormous fishes set up on a 
long bamboo pole in front of almost 



6 



every house. I found out from my 
guide-book, always my friend, that the 
fish is a symbol of success for boys. 
The fish, which is a carp, is called 
"Shusseuwo," which means fish of 
success in life. In the shops I saw 
displayed little figures of warriors in 
full armor, which were very quaint. I 
bought a set of them to send to a 
little fellow who fives across the pond, 
in America. 

We drove through the streets for 
about an hour and a half. Our jin- 
rickisha men seemed never to get 
tired. Then we went to the place 



: 



called Mukojima. It is one of the 
most beautiful places in Tokyo. It is 
an avenue of cherry-trees, at this time 
of the year in full blossom. The 
avenue is upon the eastern bank of 
the river Sumida, and is simply mag- 
nificent, being a continuous archway of 
flowers for nearly two miles. 

But turn to the southwest and see! 

There stands the snow-clad Fuji-san, 
lifting its majestic head high into the 
azure vault of heaven, as if sanctified 
for the abode of angels. Fuji-yama, 
the "matchless mount" indeed! Then 
look toward the northeast. There yon- 



8 



der you see the majestic Tsukuba, 
clad in a mantle of purple mist. 
Above you is a canopy of cherry-blos- 
soms; below you see the river reflect- 
ing the expanse of heaven. All along 
the bank there are scattered kake-jaya, 
small temporary tea houses. I went 
into one, and took some of the green 
tea of Japan. Ugh! what a drink it 
is! Far from good. I also eat a 
"sakura-mochi," which are little cakes 
of rice and pease, wrapped with cherry 
leaves preserved in salt. They are 
about as delicious as the tea. After 
having swallowed these atrocities, we 



9 



tried to turn our minds from them by 
hiring a little pleasure boat and glid- 
ing up the river. After having passed 
some time in the boat, we again got 
in our rickshas and went to take 
lunch at the Imperial Hotel, where 
the cuisine is excellent, and European, 
of course. 



10 



'MX 




CHAPTER II 

In the midst of a nest of old trees 
in Takanawa, a suburb of Yedo, is 
hidden Sengakiji, or the Spring Hill 
Temple, renowned throughout the length 
and breadth of the land for its ceme- 
tery, which contains the graves of the 
forty-seven Ronins, famous in Japanese 
history, and heroes in Japanese drama. 

On the left-hand side of the main 
court of the temple is a chapel, in 



11 



which, surmounted by a gilt image of 
Kwannon, the goddess of mercy, are 
enshrined the images of forty-seven 
men, and of the master whom they 
loved so well. The statues are carved 
in wood, the faces painted, and their 
clothes richly lacquered. Some are old 
men, with gray and white hair, others 
are mere boys of sixteen. 

Close by the chapel, at the side of 
a path leading up a hill, is a little 
well of pure water, fenced in and 
adorned with a tiny fernery, over which 
you see an inscription which says: 
"This is the well in which the head 



12 



was washed, you must not wash your 
hands or feet here." 

A little further on is a stall at which 
a man earns his daily bread by selling 
medals, pictures, and little books, com- 
memorating the loyalty of the forty- 
seven Ronins. Then higher up yet, 
shaded by a grove of majestic trees, 
are forty-eight little tombstones, each 
decked with evergreens. But there 
were forty-seven Ronins, and there are 
forty-eight tombstones? 

Yes; and the story of the forty- 
eighth is truly characteristic of Japa- 
nese ideas of honor. 



13 



Almost touching the rail of the 
graveyard is a more imposing monu- 
ment, under which lies buried the 
Lord, whose death his followers so 
piously avenged. 

But now the story! 

At the beginning of the eighteenth 
century there lived a Daimio called 
Asano Takuminokami Kaganori, who 
was lord of the castle of Ako, in the 
province of Harima. Now it happened 
that an envoy of the Mikado had been 
sent to the court of Tokugawa, the 
Shogun, at Yedo (now called Tokyo). 
On the arrival of the envoy, Asano 



14 



and another lord named Kamei Noto- 
nokami were appointed to be his en- 
tertainers; and a high officer called 
Kira Kotsukenosuke Yoshihide was or- 
dered to instruct them in the correct 
ceremonies to be observed on the occa- 
sion. Kira was well informed in the 
ceremonies of the court, and was there- 
fore in great favor, and rose far above 
the other lords in power. 

Now this Kira was a wicked and 
miserly man at heart, and treated both 
lords with great disrespect. Kamei at 
last resolved to kill this impolite lord; 
and, going home in great anger, told 



15 



his counselor his idea. At this the 
counselor was sorely troubled; and, 
having thought a long time, he re- 
solved to send Kira a gift of money, 
without telling Kamei anything about 
it. He put this plan into execution, 
and sent Kira the money that even- 
ing. Kira was delighted, and when 
the next morning came his manner 
was greatly changed, and was even so 
polite that Kamei thought no more of 
his plan of killing him. 

But to Asano, who had sent no 
money, he was even more impolite, 
and received him with jeers. At last 



16 



his manner became so impertinent that 
Asano as a "Samurai" could no longer 
stand it, and drawing his dirk he cried 
to Kira to defend himself; then, aim- 
ing at Kira, he cut at him, but only 
gave him a slight wound on his fore- 
head. By this time the retainers and 
servants of Kira Kotsukenosuke, hear- 
ing the noise of swords and their lord's 
cries, came running to him, and quickly 
caught and disarmed Asano. Then all 
confusion followed, and the news that 
my lord Asano had attacked his lord- 
ship Kira Kotsukenosuke ran like wild- 
fire. Asano was taken into custody, 



17 



and, after a long trial, it was decided 
that he should commit seppku (or 
hara-kiri) for having tried to kill my 
lord Kira in the precincts of the castle. 
After Asano was dead his followers 
became Ronins; that is, "Wandering 
Samurai without a master"; and forty- 
seven of them, headed by a man called 
Oishi Kuranosuke, made a vow that 
they would kill Kira to avenge the 
death of their beloved master. They 
set a day, accordingly, on which they 
were to meet and march to the yashiki 
(castle) of Lord Kira, and there to dis- 
patch him without more ado. 



18 



\ 



ll 



Then they dispersed, some becoming 
workmen, others schoolmasters, and still 
others learning trades. As for Oishi 
Kuranosuke, he was leading the life 
of a drunkard, so as to put Kira 
off his guard. Once at night, when 
he was coming home drunk, he fell 
asleep in the street, and a Satsuma 
man, coming up, saw him, and spit- 
ting on his face and insulting him, 
said: 

"Vile wretch, more beast than Sa- 
murai, go! Avenge your lord rather 
than lie here in the gutter." With 
these words he went away. 



19 



At last Kira was entirely put off his 
guard, and was rejoicing at the faith- 
lessness (as he thought) of Asano's fol- 
lowers, when the eventful day was 
drawing near. The day was in De- 
cember, and the hour which they had 
fixed upon in which to attack the cas- 
tle was midnight. 

It was the day before the attack, 
and all the forty-seven had come to- 
gether to have a farewell feast. At 
last midnight came, and Oishi Kura- 
nosuke and his men set out for the 
castle. The weather was freezing and 
the snow was lying thick upon the 



20 



ground, but still they marched coura- 
geously on. 

They have arrived! And now Oishi 
stands before the yashiki of my lord 
Kira. His followers, dividing them- 
selves into three parties, attack the 
gates. The guards are terrified, and 
run away crying for mercy. The gates 
give in, and all the forty-seven pour 
into the yashiki. Kira's men defend 
themselves bravely, but the Ronins are 
too much for them, and at last they 
are conquered. Now Oishi and his men 
go in search of Kira, who has hid him- 
self. They search and search, and are 



21 



on the point of despair, when a cry, 
yes, a call — one of the Ronins has 
found Kira Kotsukenosuke in a little 
outhouse! They find him almost dead 
with fear, and shivering with cold. 
Then Oishi Kuranosuke goes down on 
his knees and addresses Kira as fol- 
lows : 

"My lord, we are the retainers of 
Asano Takuminokami. Last year your 
lordship and our master quarreled in 
the palace, and our master was sen- 
tenced to hara-kiri, and his family 
was ruined. We have come to-night 
to avenge him, as is the duty of faith- 



22 



fill and loyal men. I pray your lord- 
ship to acknowledge the justice of our 
purpose. And now, my lord, we be- 
seech you to perform hara-kiri. I my- 
self shall have the honor to act as 
your second, and when, with all hu- 
mility, I shall have received your lord- 
ship's head, it is my intention to lay 
it as an offering upon the grave of 
Asano Talmminokami. " 

But Kira does not answer a word, 
but crouches down trembling and 
wailing. At last Kuranosuke, seeing 
that it is of no use to urge him, takes 
his own dirk and cuts off Kira's head. 



23 



Then placing it in a bucket, they pro- 
ceed to Asano's tomb, where they leave 
it with solemn ceremony, and then re- 
port what they have done to the city 
authorities. 

They were ordered, as they expected, 
to commit hara-kiri, which they per- 
formed at the appointed places. Then 
they were buried honorably by the 
priests of the temple. 

Some time after all this, a Satsuma 
man came, and, after making prostra- 
tions before Asano's and Kuranosuke's 
tomb, he committed seppku. The priests 
found him there, and having pity on 



24 



him, buried him beside the forty-seven 
Ronins* Thus the forty-eighth. 

My friend and I were allowed to 
inspect the relics, which are in a large 
room back of the temple. This room 
opens on one of those wonderful Japa- 
nese miniature gardens with dwarfed 
trees and small rockery in the most 
fantastic shapes. 

The relics are very interesting: old 
armor made by the Ronins themselves; 
ragged trousers and sashes, which were 
once rich silks and brocades; old gold 
crests and swords; documents written 
perhaps by Kira himself; old chains; 



25 



spears with dark rust marks and dark 
something else marks; also dirks and 
broad-swords — - innumerable old things 
that would take a book itself to write 
them all down in. 

At last, tired and weary, we went 
in our jinrickishas again, flew past 
everything, till, at last, we stopped in 
front of our own little door. 



26 



w 



J 



xffi^ 




CHAPTER III 

"Good news!" said my friend, as 
he came into my room. I sat up in 
my bed and rubbed my eyes. I was 
still sleepy, and did not like especially 
to have some one rush into my room 
and wake me out of a refreshing, 
dreamless sleep. 

"Well," said I, "what news have 
you got? I'm glad it's good." 

"Yes, I've just got a letter from 



27 



America, saying that my old friend, 
Jack Gervaise, is coming over here to 
the land of Jappy. He will probably 
be here to-morrow or the day after, as 
he wrote this letter only a few days 
before his departure from San Fran- 
cisco. Won't it be jolly. He's coming 
here to stop with us — with me; Don't 
you know him?" 

"No," said I, "I have not the pleas- 
ure. And the other note, what does 
it say?" For I saw that he had two 
notes in his hand. 

"Oh! The other is an invitation to 
lunch to-day with a certain Mr. , 



28 



a Japanese gentleman ; rather short no- 
tice, but we'll accept, of course, won't 
we?" 

"Of course," said I, eager to go to 
a Japanese dinner—a real one. "It's 
going to be 'a la Japonaise,' I sup- 
pose?" 

"I suppose so; but the card isn't 
very 'Japonaise,' is it? Going to take 
a hot bath again this morning?" 

"No, thank you. I had rather take 
it in my own room." 

"We were on our way to dinner. The 
evening was beautiful; the moon was 



29 



shining, and the eity of Tokyo looked 
like some fairy scene, red lanterns bob- 
bing up and down like rubies in the 
dark; children's merry voices ringing 
out with merry laughter through the 
clear still night. Everything seemed to 
say " Peace." It was indeed a charm- 
ing scene. 

At last we arrived at our destina- 
tion. Our jinrickishas stopped in front 
of a little avenue leading up to the 
house, which was not our host's own, 
but a swell restaurant in which they 
manage private dinners. 

A little "musmee" was at the door, 



30 



and bade us enter. After having taken 
our shoes off, we must have looked 
lovely in dress-suits and stockinged feet. 
Our host was a rather elderly gentle- 
man, dressed in the regular costume 
of the Japanese gentry. We did not 
go into dinner immediately, as evident- 
ly there was somebody else to come. 
Our expectations were verified. In a 
few moments an English lady and her 
daughter came in. Then after them 
came two Japanese ladies and one Jap- 
anese gentleman, the latter dressed in 
European costume, the former two in 
the court costume: large full red trous- 



31 



ers, trailing behind, white kimonos, and 
hair arranged heart-shaped on top and 
flowing loose behind, with a profusion 
of flowers, in front made of silver 
paper, and various little ornaments be- 
hind. The hair was tied in the mid- 
dle with gold paper. Both were most 
picturesque. They spoke English but 
little, only knowing a few words; but 
our host spoke it perfectly, as he had 
been in America a number of years. 
After a few minutes we all went into 
the dining-room; the screens opened, 
and there was our table — flat velvet 
cushions for each of us. The En- 



32 



glish lady paled distinctly; so did her 
daughter. We all seated ourselves 
as best we could, while the Japa- 
nese ladies sank down gracefully, with 
their faces wreathed in smiles at our 
attempts. 

Then the little musmee entered, and 
bowing before each, presented us with 
small haridleless cups of most beautiful 
china. There were little packages be- 
side everybody, which contained chop- 
sticks. I will not attempt to describe 
the dinner. 

This is what we had to eat: Pheas- 
ants with feathers stuck all over them, 



33 



seaweed soup, sake, and plenty other 
unnamable things. But in the middle 
of the dinner there came a pause. 
One of the sides of the room was 
pushed open, and in a beautiful little 
inclosure stood five " Geishas.* * Three 
with samisens and two dancing, or 
rather posturing, forming a series of 
tableaux. The costumes of the Geishas 
were gorgeous in the extreme: one was 
dressed in pink, and the other in 
a delicate cream color, while the ones 
who played the samisens were dressed 
in bright red embroidered with gold. 
Their hair was profusely bedecked 



34 



with gold, little sticks, and won- 
derful imitation flowers. They sang in 
a nasal falsetto voice, which Euro- 
peans cannot appreciate. Their voice is 
so very unnatural that it must be very 
painful for them, yet they did not 
seem to mind it in the least, and fin- 
ished as fresh as when they began. 
They hold fans in both hands, and 
wave them about in a most graceful 
manner. Then the panels closed up, 
and we resumed our dinner. 

The young English lady, Miss Mabel 
Elliot, looked perfectly delighted, and 
she seemed rather sorry when the lit- 



35 



• - -—.- 



tie performance of the Geishas was 
over. 

Her mother, Mrs. Elliot, who was 
rather stout, was bordering on insan- 
ity, as she had been sitting down a la 
Japonaise for at least an hour and 
a half, and it was only after great 
difficulty that she succeeded in getting 
up when the dinner was finished. 

Our host accompanied us to the door, 
giving us a most inappropriate hand- 
shake. We saw ; the little Geishas in 
much more sober clothes out in the 
garden. When we walked down to 
our jinrickishas, they looked at us and 



36 



the two English ladies very curiously, 
and made some Japanesey remarks 
about us, as we went away in our 
kurumas. 

The next day I again met Mrs. and 
Miss Elliot, as my friend and I were 
visiting the Shiba Daijingu, Temple of 
Amaterasu-Omikami and Tokoyohime- 
no-mikoto. I had a chance to talk 
to Miss, while I let my friend devote 
himself to the honorable Mrs. She 
informed me that they were going for 
a jinrickisha party on the next day, as 
they had all got their private jinricki- 
shas, and were sure to have good 



37 



coolies to pull them. She asked me 
to come. I told my friend, and we 
decided that we would go. 

"Meet to-morrow at 11:30. Don't 
forget. At the Fugi Jinsha." * 



* Temple of Konokana Sakuya Hime, the 
Goddess of the Peak Fujiyama. 



CHAPTER IV 

First of June! And to-day is our 
jinrickisha trip. The first thing in the 
morning that I ask my friend is if 
our jinrickishas are ordered. 

"Kohana!" he cries to the little 
maid, and claps his hands. In she 
comes. 

"Are our jinrickishas here?" 

"Hai!" she says, and bohs out again. 

"Very well. Then come on." 



39 



Once in our jinrickishas, then ends 
our conversation, as the law compels 
kurumas to go behind each other, and 
not two abreast. It is nothing like 
11:30 yet, so I resolve to spend my 
time in shopping. Shopping is not 
the word for buying things in Japan. 
It is too commonplace for all those 
dainty things set out before you; 
one would like to buy everything at 
once. 

"Here, stop!" I cry in my best 
Japanese to my ricksha man, as I see 
a show before me thai; I cannot resist. 
He stops and I go in. My friend fol- 



40 



lows me. Here I see a beautiful ki- 
mono, evidently old and very valuable. 
I have not got one yet, so I must 
get it. "Ikura?" ("How much?"), I 
ask the man, pointing to it. 

"Hyaku-yen-de-gozarimas" ("It is a 
hundred yen"), says he, smiling and 
bowing at me. 

"Is it dear or not?" I ask my friend. 
"I know nothing in the prices of ki- 
monos." 

"Neither do I," is the unsatisfactory 
answer. 

"Well, I'll take it ; and here is 
the money," I say to the man, who 



41 



seems delighted. He wraps it up 
for me, and I send it out to my 
jinrickisha. 

I have only got three yen left now. 
I just brought with me one hundred 
and three yen. I want to spend it. I 
look around some time; and at last 
see an obi— just what I want to go 
with the kimono. 

"Ikura?" 

Three and a half yen, and I've only 
got three left. I borrow a half from 
my friend and buy it, and send it off 
also to my jinrickisha. 

My friend has bought more than I 



42 




**3£- 



jfamtry €*?&#**** fo : 4jtf. 



have. He has a sword, Japanese pipe, 
one Buddha, and one very modern 
kimono, and a beautiful sword hilt. 

We stayed some time in this little 
shop, and the merchant displayed some 
of his most precious things, stowed 
away and wrapped up in brown and 
yellow cloth. One of his most beauti- 
ful things was an ancient kimono of 
yellow and gold. 

This "velly oil," he told us, as he 
showed it to us. We gazed at it ad- 
miringly, and then abruptly took our 
leave, as the temptation to "buy" was 
becoming very alarming. Then we 



43 



. ' 



rolled through the streets on our way 
to our meeting-place, the temple of 
Fuji Jinja. The first day of June 
is the festival of the goddess of Fuji- 
yama, and therefore we chose her tem- 
ple as our rendezvous. Men sell straw 
serpents to the multitude on that day, 
as is the old custom. This temple once 
belonged to the Daimyo of Kaga. 

When we arrived we went immedi- 
ately to the very spot appointed for 
our meeting; but, to our surprise, neither 
Mrs. nor Miss Elliot were to be seen, 
and it was already after the time ap- 
pointed. We waited for about a half 



44 



an hour, when we concluded that 
mademoiselle had calmly changed her 
mind, and had not the faintest notion 
of coming; but we were mistaken, for 
just when we were preparing to go 
back home in came both Miss and 
Mrs., and others besides, in a most 
preposterous hurry. When she got near 
us she explained that the jinrickisha 
man she had engaged fell ill, and she 
had the hardest time in getting an- 
other who would go for such a long 
way; but after great difficulty she had 
succeeded in getting this man, who 
seemed perfectly good. 



45 



We got out of our rickshas and 
walked around the temple grounds, and 
also went in the temple. It was very 
crowded; but as the day was rather 
cool it was not uncomfortable. All the 
young girls had donned their holiday 
attire, and very pretty they looked, 
with their bright obis (sashes) and 
varicolored kimonos. The elder women 
wore rather more sober colors, such as 
gray and dark purple, and the men 
were dressed entirely in dark blues, 
blacks and grays; though I occasion- 
ally saw one or two in green or 
mauve. Altogether it was a most in- 



46 



teresting scene. After staying some 
time we thought it about time to set 
out, so we all came back to our jin- 
rickishas, and off we went. 

The streets were almost deserted, as 
every one had gone to the temple that 
day. The drive to get into the country 
is not long, and we were soon out of 
the city. The scenery was beautiful, 
and Miss Elliot had her sketch-book 
with her. Every now and then, when 
we wanted to jot down some pretty 
little house with a thatched roof or a 
rice field with peasants about, we would 
stop and sketch the object of our fancy. 



47 



We did not travel very quickly, as we 
saw many pretty little bits. 

When we got further out in the 
country the peasants would stare at 
us. They do not often see foreigners 
where we went, as we did not take 
the regular road. At last we thought 
that we would stop to take lunch, and 
all halted by a little brook. There 
were two little children who were sit- 
ting down by a tree not very far 
away. They watched us eat with great 
curiosity. We did not have much of 
a lunch — boiled eggs, rice biscuits, sand- 
wiches, apollinaris and beer. We were 



48 



a jolly party altogether, and had lots 
of fun. There was an especially funny 
old English gentleman, some relation 
of the Elliots, I believe; also a rather 
stiff young lady, highly uninteresting; 
and her brother, about twenty-two 
years, also of rare stupidity. 

Miss E tried to coax the small 

children who were watching us to come 
to us, but in vain; at last she got up 
and began to run after them to their 
terror. They shrieked and ran wildly 
away, their small kimonos floating in 
the air behind them. They ran toward 
a little clump of bushes on the border 



49 






of a wood, out of which suddenly 
came a woman with a small baby on 
her back. She seemed very angry that 
we should torment her darlings. We 
explained, through one of our jinrickisha 
men, who spoke fairly good English, 
that we simply wanted to see the chil- 
dren nearer, as we thought them very 
sweet and charming. This pacified the 
woman immediately, and she even be- 
came quite friendly; she even brought 
the two children, now calm, to come 
and see us. They looked at us in 
wonderment and reverence, as if we 
were some extraordinary creatures de- 



50 



scended from some Buddhist heaven. 
We now became quite interested in the 
woman, and inquired where she lived. 
We found that she had a little house 
not far away. We went as far to ask 
her if we could visit her house. She 
answered "Hai" immediately, and 
seemed highly enchanted that she 
should have the honor of our visit- 
ing her home. We had finished lunch 
by this time, and resolved that we 
would walk to the house, while our 
ricksha men smoked their tiny little 
pipes. 
Then off we started, the woman 



51 







leading the way, while jolly old Mr. 
Fenwick asked her many questions 
through his guide-book; but she only 
stared, for I do not think his accent 
was of the best Japanese or his 
grammar quite correct. He was not 
to be discouraged though, and took to 
something easier, and after making a 
wild excursion through his note-book, 
he politely asked her, "If there was 
any place to be seen about this town?'* 
Which in Japanese is "Kono-hen ni 
nanika kembutsu suru monowa ari- 
masen ka." 

This time she laughed, and must 



52 



have thought that foreigners had very 
queer minds, as there was no town 
for at least seven miles, as we were 
just about that from Tokio. Still she 
did not answer him, and he gave up 



in despair. 

t 

Soon the house hove in view. It 
was quite large, and had a thatched 
roof. The house, as all Japanese 
houses, was not built on the ground, 
but on posts which rest on large flat 
stones, so that if any severe wind 
comes the house will not fall down, 
but will rock upon these large stones. 
It is also a precaution against earth- 



53 



quakes, which are very frequent in 
Japan. We all took off our shoes, as 
is customary before entering houses in 
Japan, for the big clogs of the Japa- 
nese would spoil the delicate soft green- 
ish-white matting, which is the cover- 
ing for each floor. 

The house was very neat, and flow- 
ers were seen here and there, taste- 
fully arranged in vases. The woman 
was fairly well off, we could see, and 
had some very pretty little things. 
There was a little Daikoku sitting on 
a red lacquered stool, which was par- 
ticularly captivating; there were flow- 



54 



ers arranged about him— about his lit- 
tle fat person, smiling good-naturedly. 
Daikoku is the god of wealth, and al- 
most all Japanese families keep a little 
statue or picture of him, and reverence 
him a great deal. There was a panel 
with Fuji-yama painted on it, which 
was also very pretty. 

Our hospitable hostess made us un- 
derstand that she was going to give 
us some tea. It was quite a long 
time before we understood what she 
meant; but at last she kept on re- 
peating "cha" and "cha" again. Mr. 
Fenwick hunted in his guide-book and 



55 



radiantly told us that it was "tea!" 
Then he said "Hai," and before we 
could say anything, she was off to 
get green tea, without either cream or 
sugar. She soon appeared again bear- 
ing seven cups on a little tray of black 
lacquer, or at least imitation lacquer. 
The wicked Mr. Fenwick chuckled at 
the mischief he had done, as he knew 
none of us would have the heart to 
refuse the tea that our smiling hostess 
had brought. She thought that it was 
a treat she was giving us, and would 
be surprised and pained if we should 
refuse it, of course. 



56 



But we all drank it down in a gulp, 
as if it was the sweetest drink imag- 
inable, though she must have thought 
Europeans were very gluttonous, to 
swallow it down in such manner, in- 
stead of daintily sipping it as her 
countrywomen do. After the tea 
she entertained the ladies by ex- 
hibiting her kimonos and quilts; her 
finest, of course. 

We learned that she kept boarders 
overnight — those that passed on the 
road, traveling to some other place; 
but she had nobody at present, and 
her house was quite empty. 



57 



Then came an idea! We could pass 
the night there, and resume our jin- 
rickisha voyage in the morning! The 
house was empty, and consequently 
there was lots of room. But how tell 
her? 

We decided that some one should go 
and bring Toko, the ricksha man, who 
could speak English, to come and pro- 
pose this to the mistress of the house. 
Accordingly I set out to get him, and 
in a short time returned, Toko pulling 
me in his jinrickisha. 

He told her our intention, which she 
received with exclamations of happi- 



58 



/« 




u 





.( 




i 



ness, that we, the " honorable foreign- 
ers," "would deign to stop overnight in 
her humble home." Provision was also 
made for our coolies, who were to 
sleep in a little outhouse, rather old 
and broken down, but still good enough. 
Our entertaining hostess now an- 
nounced that her two little girls were 
going to give us a little amusement. 
We were certainly having a delightful 
evening, one of my most delightful 
evenings in Japan. From the open 
blinds we could see the sun setting; 
the sky was a beautiful golden red, 
specked with little bluish clouds, and 



59 



two little birds were flying around and 
twittering in the sky. Then noiselessly 
the sun sank down to rest, and the 
golden red faded into pink, then pale 
yellow, and then the sky became again 
a mantle of darkish blue, and the two 
little birds went to their nest. None 
of us spoke, so beautiful was this 
scene, till our hostess's merry voice 
broke the silence, announcing that 
the performance was to begin. She 
brought with her two wood and paper 
lamps, which she set down on the 
floor about ten feet apart. After her 
came in two little bodies, which, 



60 



through their paint, we recognized as 
the two little girls of the afternoon. 
They looked different indeed. Instead 
of the simple little gray and brown 
kimonos which we first saw them in, 
they were gaudily attired in light blue 
with lozenge patterns — flowers and birds 
all over their little kimonos. They wore 
sashes of bright red, and their faces 
were painted and powdered like verk 
table little coquettes, yet they were 
rather shy, which did not go at all 
with their appearance. They began a 
song, which lasted about fifteen min- 
utes. It was not at all the voices 



61 



which you hear from Geishas and pro- 
fessional singers, and it was much 
more pleasing to the ear, as it was 
neither strained nor nasal. Their voices, 
indeed, were very sweet and soft and 
low; they did not get excited and 
begin to make gestures, and jump 
around, but kept motionless, standing 
with their little hands hidden in their 
sleeves. 

When the song was over, they gave 
a sort of little pantomime, clapping 
their hands and stamping their feet, 
and twirling around. The two funny 
little bodies began twisting themselves 



62 



around in most extraordinary shapes, 
and afforded us a considerable amount 
of amusement. But the young, unin- 
teresting lady seemed perfectly serious, 
and was jotting down things in her 
note-book; her brother, however, lost 
a little of his dignity, to our great 
surprise. He actually even made quite 
a bright remark, to our still greater 
surprise. Suddenly our two little en- 
tertainers dropped to their knees, and 
touched their flower - bedecked little 
heads to the ground, and, getting up, 
quietly glided out of the room. We 
clapped them vigorously, and their 



63 



proud mother followed them out of 
the room, only to appear again to 
show us our rooms, which were four 
in all. I had one with my friend, 
Miss Elliot with her mother, and Mr. 
Fenwick with the uninteresting young 
gentleman, and the uninteresting lady 
had a room to herself. She requested, 
from her guide-book, to the landlady, 
that she wished four under-quilts to 
sleep on, while we contented ourselves 
(excepting Mrs. Elliot) with two, though 
we all lived to regret it, as the next 
morning we had the most violent 
pains in our shoulders. The night 



64 



was very warm, so I slept with my 
paper blinds open. 

It was a beautiful night. I could 
see the moon shining down upon the 
rather large garden outside of my win- 
dow, or rather of my paper blinds 
thrown open. Everything looked so en- 
chanting outside that I really could not 
get to sleep. I hated to close my 
eyes on this lovely and quiet scene, 
and I at last succumbed to the tempta- 
tion to go out in the garden, so put- 
ting on a rather worn kimono which 
I found in the room, I quietly slipped 
out, and took a little fifteen-minute 



65 



walk around about the house. Then, 
returning, I again got into my quilts, 
and slept the sleep of the just. 

I awoke early in the morning to 
hear the laughter of the little children 
of the house, who were amusing them- 
selves with their younger brother, out 
in the garden, immediately outside my 
window. They were at a well with a 
little wooden bucket in their hands. 
They were sending it down and bring- 
ing it up again full of water. Then 
they would dump the water in again 
and begin the same over again. They 



66 



kept this up for some time, and when 
they had finished I saw them turn to- 
ward me. They saw my blinds were 
open, and advanced nearer. I made 
believe to be asleep. Then the little 
inquisitive bodies were assured, as they 
thought I really was. The eldest spoke 
in a whisper to the two others; then, 
leaving them at some distance, she 
clambered up the little piazza which 
surrounded the house, and came to- 
ward my window. First she gave a 
long look in, and then, thinking I 
was asleep, she advanced in my room. 
I was in perpetual fear that my friend 



67 



would awake and thereby frighten the 
little visitor away. He did not awake, 
but he suddenly turned around, which 
set Miss Inquisitive flying off, leaping 
off piazza and all, and falling in a 
heap on the grass. The other little 
girl ran to her help, but the baby 
brother sat down, or rather tumbled 
down, on the grass, and smilingly ob- 
served the proceedings. 

/It was time that I should dress, so 
I got up and closed the shutters. My 
friend was « also awake by this time, and 
after having performed our ablutions, we 
were in a short time out of our room* 



68 



In less than twenty-five minutes 
everybody was out and ready to de- 
part. We did not eat much breakfast, 
except rice and peaches, which our 
hostess provided. We bid her "sayo- 
nara," and paying her her money, to 
which we added a few yen, we rolled 
off in our kurumas, to resume our 
journey. 



69 



CHAPTER V 

The next afternoon, when we ar- 
rived home, a pleasant surprise was 
awaiting us. As soon as we entered 
our little house we found that my 
friend's dear friend, Jack Gervaise, 
was inside waiting for us. We hur- 
ried into the next room, where we 
fond him reading a noveL After hav- 
ing exchanged salutations with my 
friend, he was introduced to me. He 



70 



was a charming fellow, and was also 
very handsome. He had a small blonde 
mustache and very light blonde hair. 
We spent the whole evening in inter- 
esting conversation. The next night 
we all went to see the Japanese the- 
ater, to see Danjuro, Japan's greatest 
actor. We were all settled in the the- 
ater when the play began. In came 
the actors, down the polished, flowery 
way — a sort of long platform which 
serves as an exit and entrance for 
them. The costumes of the actors 
were something magnificent. Danjuro, 
in this play, took the part of a 



71. 



woman, as women are not allowed 
to play in Japan on the stage, 
except one actress, a Madam Yone 
Nachi, who plays in a theater with 
women only. Danjuro's make-up was 
simply wonderful. It was impossible 
for one to tell him from a woman; 
his face was painted white and then 
rouged; his eyebrows were exquisitely 
arched, and his mouth was exceedingly 
small, and was vermillion red, with a 
dash of gold across his chin. The 
scene of the play was laid in the 
Yoshiwara, and, of course, we did not 
understand a word of it. 



72 



At last the play ended, and the 
actors again paraded out on the "Flow- 
ery Way." We all had enjoyed it very 
much, and were really sorry when it 
was over. The audience had been also 
an amusement, whole families dressed 
in their best, looking on with every 
emotion portrayed in their faces; and 
in between the acts almost everybody 
was seen smoking their tiny pipes, 
which only hold about three puffs, 
and which also they are constantly 
refilling. 

We had a most delightful walk home 
— my friend, Mr. Gervaise and I. It 



73 



was a moonlight night, clear and still 
— one of those beautiful June nights 
when one would like to stay out all 
night. But, alas! we soon arrived 
home, and in a few minutes were too 
sleepy to be sentimentally inclined. 

Two days after I left Tokyo to visit 
Nagoya, Yokohama and Nagasaki, 
which were all very delightful. Na- 
goya was extremely interesting on ac- 
count of the old palace-castle which is 
there. This old structure is something 
wonderful, and I spent hours in it. 

Some of the walls have most re- 
markable frescoes on them, which are 



74 



very, very old. I have never seen 
fresco work in Japan, except this, and 
I believe it is the only piece of any 
consequence in the whole country. 
Nagasaki was also charming. The 
scenery around the Inland Sea is 
beautiful beyond description. 

Girls in bright attire, with brilliant 
kerchiefs on their heads, stroll the 
streets of Nagasaki with samisens in 
their hands every night. They sing 
and tell funny stories or ghost stories, 
and usually they attract great crowds. 
The Geishas of Nagasaki are rather 
famous. 



75 





I did not like Yokohama quite so 
much, though there is no doubt that 
it is a lovely city, and has many 
charming spots. But I really was glad 
to return to old Tokyo, of which I have 
grown really fond. 

A most astounding piece of news 
awaited my arrival. As soon as I was 
home again my friend calmly told me 
that Jack Gervaise was engaged to be 
married to Miss Mabel Elliot! 

"What!" I exclaimed. "Engaged 
after a month and a half's acquaint- 
ance!" 

But I found that they had known 



76 



each other for years in old England, 
and that must have been Mr. Ger- 
vaise's reason for coming to Japan. 

They were married in Paris two 
months after, and I am sorry to say 
that I was not at the wedding, as by 
that time I was again in New York. 

And now, when I sit by my fire- 
side in the evenings, I often fall asleep 
and dream of that far-away land — that 
enchanting land of the rising sun — 
that land of the chrysanthemum— that 
land which will always be a sweet 
memory to me. That land of Japan! 

So then, "Sayonara." 



77 



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